A Returning
by ratedgdr
Summary: When a Gardevoir learns that her first trainer is suffering from leukemia, she makes a long journey on her own to be by his side. Rated M for language, some violence, some really sad stuff, and possibly a lemon or two.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any Pokemon-related trademarks. Pokemon and all related trademarks are the property of Nintendo. The only things I own are the original characters. This is purely for fun and entertainment purposes and not for profit.**

**Author's note: This is rated M for some strong language, some violence, some emotionally disturbing elements involving death, and possibly a Pokemon X Human lemon or two. Reader's discretion is advised.**

**Words in italics are the thoughts and such of Pokemon.**

CHAPTER ONE

As the airship touched down on the landing strip, Micah looked out his window at the dark tarmac and the terminal in the distance. The shuttle bus was waiting to carry the passengers to the terminal as the luggage was unloaded by the Machokes and Machamps that worked at the airport.

Micah turned away from the window and glanced over at the Gardevoir sitting next to him. The beret that she was wearing had slipped partway down her face, and she was fast asleep. Micah gently shook her shoulder. "Gardevoir, wake up!" he whispered. "We're here!"

Gardevoir let out a short, sleepy groan, opened her eyes, and yawned. She blinked a few times, then leaned forward and looked out the window.

"_How long was I asleep for?"_ she asked telepathically.

Understanding what she had said, he looked at his watch. "About four, five hours. Something like that."

Gardevoir straightened her beret and sat up a bit straighter in her seat.

"_So we're in Blackthorn City now?"_

"Yep, just in time for the start of the research expedition," said Micah.

"_The research expedi- oh, wait, never mind. I remember now. Stupid of me to forget it after you spent weeks talking about it."_

Micah smiled wryly.

"Yeah, I know. I guess I've been looking forward to this for so long I haven't been able to shut up about it," he said.

"_Don't feel bad about it, master. You've been so excited to be asked on this trip. I'm happy for you."_

"Thanks, Gardevoir. That means a lot."

Gardevoir smiled and snuggled up close to him instinctively.

Micah and Gardevoir only had to wait a short time for their bags to arrive on the baggage carousel. Micah had packed a few changes of clothes, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, comb, hairbrush, hyper potions, max elixirs, and full heals as well as several different types of berries. Gardevoir had only taken the beret and a few extra gowns.

Gardevoir looked around the terminal at the other trainers and their Pokemon. Many of them were there to try their luck at the local gym, renowned for its tough Dragon-type Pokemon and their trainers. Many of them were there to go a different route through the Ice Path. And many of them were there to just visit friends and family or to find new Pokemon.

It felt so different here compared to the towns in Hoenn. She had never known any other place after she was first caught so long ago as a tiny Ralts. Since then, she had fought many battles, evolved into a Kirlia, been traded to Micah, evolved into her current form, and ultimately helped Micah to win the championship. It seemed at times like such a whirl.

But then there were the quiet times, the times where Micah would fall asleep in front of the television at home, surrounded by some of his other Pokemon. Gardevoir would sometimes stay awake and watch the happy bunch snoozing on or around the couch, as Swampert was much to big to be sitting on the furniture. The times where they would spend sunny afternoons searching for berries as the birds in the trees sang. The times when-

"Gardevoir?"

Micah's voice brought her back to reality as she realized that she was still standing near the carousel.

"_I-I'm sorry, master,"_ she stammered. _"I must have wandered off in my mind for a minute."_

"Eh, don't worry about it," he consoled her. "I do that all the time. I was just about to leave for the hotel. Are you ready?"

"_Yes, let's go."_

_Micah picked up his bags, while Gardevoir insisted on carrying her own, and together they walked through the doors of the terminal and began walking towards the hotel._


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: I do not own Pokemon or related trademarks. Nintendo does. I just own the original characters. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblances to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.**

CHAPTER TWO

Micah set his luggage down and began digging in his pockets.

"Now, let's see, I know I got the room key here somewhere," he muttered as Gardevoir stared blankly at the door. "Damn it. Gardevoir, did I give you the key?"

Gardevoir opened her suitcase and rummaged through her gowns, then looked up. _"Nope. It's not here."_

"Oh, great," huffed Micah.

"_Did you check your wallet?"_

He went back into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "I usually avoid doing stuff like that because I tend to forget about it and I walk off with the room key by mistake and yet I do it anyway," he said, finding the card as he finished his sentence. He looked at Gardevoir, smiled sheepishly, and slid the key through the slot. The _click_ of the lock prompted him to turn the handle and enter the room.

A few hours later, after getting things sorted out and having dinner , the two were preparing to settle in for the night. Micah was in the bathroom brushing his teeth while Gardevoir sat on the edge of the bed.

"_So, uh, what exactly IS this expedition about, anyway?"_ she asked him.

"Basically, we're going to be doing further studies of all the native Pokemon in this part of Johto. We don't know as much as we'd like to about them, and so we're studying the habitat and the diet and the like. It's a bit more complicated than it sounds."

"_Do I get involved in any way, shape, or form?"_

"Well, we're instructed to bring our allotted six Pokemon with us, so yeah, you'll be coming with."

"_Yay!"_

Micah finished brushing his teeth, shut the light off in the bathroom, and walked over to the bed. "I hope it doesn't end up boring you, Gardevoir. I'd hate to do that to you."

"_Nothing you do ever bores me, master,"_ she replied as she crawled under the covers.

"I suppose you're right," sighed Micah as he got in the bed and turned the lamp off.

In the moonlight, Gardevoir could see the shadows cast dramatically on the walls of the room. It was rather haunting, in a beautiful sort of way. The quietness of the evening lent its own enchantment.

She turned on her side and gazed upon her trainer. His shirtless torso was partially exposed by her disturbing the covers in turning, and she mentally traced the musculature from point to point, drinking in every little angle and every exquisitely uneven sinew. Micah, to her, was truly a stirring sight to behold.

And then he snored loudly, jarring Gardevoir back to reality. She fell back on her pillow and allowed sleep to come over her.

She felt herself back in Hoenn.

Taillows fluttered past over her head as she walked through wind-swept fields of grass. She felt the soft tops of the grass brush against her legs as the breeze swept her gown behind her. The warmth of the sun illuminated her snow white skin and her short yet lustrous green hair.

She turned her head to see Micah walking a few yards to one side, his T-shirt tight against his muscled body, his pale blond hair shining like gold in the noonday sun.

Somehow, it felt like the wind was blowing them closer to each other. The distance between them narrowed ever so quickly, and yet it felt like they were walking forever. Every footstep, while it was only a second or two long, seemed like a minute or longer. And yet steadily, steadily, they became closer.

Soon, the two were together, and Micah took her in his arms and drew her as close as her horn would allow. They stood motionless in the field, her head on his chest, as the wind blew around them, the whole thing feeling so much like a dream….

The first rays of sunlight came coursing through the window, lighting her eyelids like fire. She started to sit up and noticed that Micah was gone. Half-awake, she started looking around in a mild panic before she saw him leaning on the wall, eating a muffin and staring at her,

"Morning, beautiful," he said, a slight smirk touching one corner of his face. "How are you feeling this fine day?"

"_I think I'd feel a lot more fine if I didn't have to panic so much when I wake up alone,"_ she replied, half-irritated and half-groggy.

"I heard muffins calling me and I couldn't resist," he slyly remarked, tossing the last bite and catching it in mid-air with his mouth.

After the two had had breakfast, Micah gathered his supplies together before he and Gardevoir set out for the meeting place for the expedition. They were to meet near the opening of the Ice Path, where they would split into pairs or trios and commence searching for native Pokemon to study and, perhaps, capture. It was to be a ten day expedition, covering plenty of ground as they went along.

Micah and Gardevoir had barely gotten started in the direction of the Ice Path when his cell phone rang.

"Sorry, Gardevoir, I gotta answer this," he said, hitting a button. "Hello?"

There was a pause, then: "Oh, hi, Mrs. Pikenzi. What's going on?"

There was another pause, during which Micah's face grew more and more shocked and saddened. Gardevoir immediately sensed that something was truly wrong.

"How long does he have?" he asked, sounding like he had a very big lump in his throat.

There was another pause, and Gardevoir could hear a woman's voice weeping over the phone. Micah swallowed hard, then said, "I'll see if I can make it out there, but I can't promise that my boss would be so understanding. But look, I'll try to come as soon as I can, OK?"

There was one more pause, and then: "All right, well, you take care of yourself too, OK? I'll try to be there as soon as I can, OK? OK, bye."

Micah hung up, and it was clear to Gardevoir that it was serious.

"_What's wrong, master?"_ she asked, concern unconcealed in her voice.

"Remember Karl, your first trainer?"

"_Yes. Why? Is something wrong with him?"_

"_Yes, Gardevoir, there is." Micah swallowed hard again and it was plain to see that he was choking back tears. "He has a disease called leukemia for the past year. Well, the doctors just told his parents that he's taken a turn for the worst. He-he's dying, Gardevoir."_


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

"WHAT?" yelled Micah.

"Just what I said, Mr. Gilchrist," replied the man at the table. Sweat was forming on the top of his bald head, barely concealed by a thin combover. "We can't let you go."

"Damn it, Professor, that man is my friend! He deserves to have someone he knows at bedside!"

"That's what family members are for, Mr. Gilchrist," the man emotionlessly intoned. "And unless there's something you're not telling me, you're not family. So you're not going anywhere."

"Oh, come on! You know as well as I do that I can go-"

"Again, if he was part of your family and not just a friend, I would have no problem with it. But there have been quite a few friends of mine that I lost while I was on the job, and I was already obligated to continue my work and so I missed their funerals. Besides, you've used all of your vacation days for this period."

"Oh, this is bull-"

"Mr. Gilchrist, I sympathize with your position. I really do. But you cannot leave the expedition now. In fact, you should have told me before we even left."

"I didn't find out until today!" argued Micah, knowing that continuing to insist would be pointless, yet feeling that he somehow owed it to Karl to try. "How the hell am I supposed to know if I have to go if I don't know I have to go yet?"

"That's not my problem, Mr. Gilchrist. Now, I suggest that you let me continue my preparations in peace."

Micah opened his mouth to say something, but instead, he lamely shut his mouth and walked off.

Gardevoir was standing a good distance off, watching the two men's discourse. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying from where she was, but her master's rage was clear to her, and it frightened her. She didn't like it when he was angry, because while he never took his anger out on his Pokemon, he was a different person when he got mad, and not at all in a good way.

She tried to shut those thoughts and bad memories out of her head as Micah stormed over to her.

"He's not going to let me go," he fumed. "Just because I'm only a friend. That's a load of crap and he knows it."

"_I-I'm so sorry," _stammered Gardevoir.

"No, don't be," replied Micah. "It's not your fault that he's an emotionally deficient hardass."

"_Well, at least you tried, master. I guess that's all you can do."_

"That's the problem, Gardevoir. I _didn't _try. Making a mad long-distance mad dash to be by his side but being just a second too late? _THAT'S_ trying. Arguing with an uncaring poltroon is not trying. I feel like I've let him down, and that feeling sucks."

He let out a sigh and began walking away.

Gardevoir stood where she was, still feeling terrible that her master was not going to be able to be with his friend, her first trainer. It hurt her heart to think of how badly they were hurting, Karl a physical hurt, Micah an emotional one. If only she could do something to take that hurt away! If only she could go in her master's place!

And all of a sudden, she knew what she had to do. It was a risky idea, and she knew that there was a strong chance that she'd never be allowed to carry it out, but it was worth the shot….

Gardevoir looked around, saw Micah dejectedly walking back to the city, and ran after him. _"I could go, master!"_

Micah stopped and spun around. "What?"

"_I said I could go be with Karl,"_ repeated Gardevoir.

"No. No, no, no, no, no," said Micah, shaking his head. "It's much too dangerous for you to be going off on your own in a place you know nothing about."

"_But SOMEBODY has to be there for Karl. Yes, his parents will be there, but he needs someone else by his side as well."_

"Gardevoir, you won't know where you're going, you don't have any supplies packed with you for something like that, it's just not safe for you to do that."

"_I know that you're afraid of losing me, master. You don't need to mask it behind so many words."_

Micah sighed again. "You're right. I just don't like the thought of my favorite-" He stopped. "This must sound insane to you."

"_No, I understand. I guess I should never have brought it up in the first place."_ She started to walk away.

"Gardevoir, wait."

She turned back around to face him.

"I guess maybe I'm just being too overprotective. Maybe I should let you go. After all, you're right, he needs a friend, and I can't go, and-"

It was too hard for Micah to continue, as a tear started to move down his face. Gardevoir felt terrible about asking now. She walked back to him and put an arm on his shoulder.

"I'll help you pack," he said after a while. "You can't go out there unprepared. You need money. And a map."

"_I already have clothes, so I don't need to worry about that."_

"Might be a good idea to have more than just your gowns to wear," he commented as they walked back toward the hotel. "Not sure how well shirts would go with your chest horn, but it wouldn't hurt to try a few on. Some pants may not be a bad idea either-"

"_Tight ones?" _she asked. _"You always look so good in yours."_

"As slim as you are, it may be hard to find any tight enough for you," Micah replied with a mischievous smile. "Of course-"

"_Oh, come on, master, it's not like my legs are skinny like when I was a Kirlia. Actually, it's not like I'm skinny like when I was a Kirlia, period."_

Micah's mischievous smile remained. "I'm just saying that you're as perfect as you can possibly be."

Gardevoir kissed him as they reached their hotel. _"You rascally thing, you!"_

* * *

><p>"OK, let's go over what we've got here," Micah said as he and Gardevoir began placing things in the piece of luggage that she had already brought and the piece that he had bought for her. "Gowns, a couple pairs of jeans, a couple of T-shirts, a tank top, four each of antidotes, paralyze heals, burn heals, and full restores, several different berries, soap, shampoo, a pair of sandals, maps of Johto and Kanto, your trainer tag so nobody tries to capture you, and-" He reached into his wallet and pulled out some bills. "There's three hundred bucks. You're going to need it, so be careful in using it."<p>

Gardevoir put the money in the suitcase with her clothes. _"Think that'll be enough stuff?"_

"I hope so," Micah replied.

He walked her to the door of the hotel. "I'll get another Pokemon out of one of my PC boxes to replace you until you get back. I'll stay here until you get back."

She nodded wordlessly. The seriousness of her mission weighed heavily on her. Micah couldn't bear to see her like this, so he took her chin in his hand, gently lifted her face towards him, and kissed her. She stood there, lips parted, eyes closed, and he kissed her again. She began kissing him back, and they stood there kissing for a couple of minutes.

Then she lowered her head. _"I have to go," _she said in a faint voice.

"Return to me safe, my love," he replied as she walked away.

As he watched her go, he wondered to himself, _I hope I'm doing the right thing…._

**Author's note: OK, so this chapter may have been a bit longer than I had intended, but now the main story, with its share of twists and such, begins….**


	4. Chapter 4

Once Gardevoir got past the city limits, she took a deep breath.

_Well, here goes half of nothing,_ she thought.

She began walking, feeling uneasy at first about her decision. It _was_ a long way from Blackthorn to Celadon City. There were caves and mountains and forests to cross, not to mention many wild Pokemon that she had never seen before and would have a tough time fighting.

_And there's so many other things to worry about,_ she continued thinking. _What was I thinking?_

She stopped herself in her tracks suddenly, nearly tumbling off a small cliff. It was at least four or five feet straight down, just enough to hurt someone if they kept walking blissfully on and didn't notice the ground beneath their feet vanishing into thin air. She carefully knelt down, turned herself around, and gently eased to the edge of the cliff. She got her feet and lower legs over the edge and began to search for footing. Eventually, she gained a tenuous foothold and began to slowly climb down. Soon, she ran out of room to climb and released her grip, landing lightly on her feet.

She straightened up and looked into the distance as she brushed herself off. There were a couple more cliffs some ways off, with knee-high grass in spots throughout the spaces between. The sounds of various creatures filled the air. She turned back to the cliff she had just climbed down from, and the realization struck her that she was not going to be able to climb back up it.

_I guess there really is no turning back now,_ she mused.

She began walking again, trying deliberately to avoid going through the tall grass so as not to weaken herself by getting involved in a battle she did not need. Whenever she came to a ledge, she took the same careful approach to climbing down from them. It was a bit more time-consuming than she desired, especially where she was trying to descend and hold on to her bags at the same time, but soon, she found herself climbing down the last cliff in her immediate path. A large building stood some distance ahead. _Maybe if there's someone there who can understand what I'm trying to say, I can get some directions to Celadon. This map only does so much._

She walked through the door, only to see that the building was empty.

"_Hello?"_ she called out, although instinctively, she also used her Pokemon voice. "Gardevoir?"

There was no reply.

_Strange,_ she thought. _Isn't someone normally supposed to be here? _She called out again, both telepathically and vocally, but there was still no response. Nothing except a loud snoring noise from inside the building.

Cautiously, she approached the front counter and peered over the edge. A heavy-set man in a uniform was sleeping on the floor, his mouth agape as a full-throated snore reverberated through him.

She tried to lean over the counter to try to gently shake him awake, but she couldn't reach far enough with her arms to even touch him. She searched for an object long enough to tap him with but found nothing.

_Guess I'll just have to keep going, then,_ she decided.

She picked up her bags and walked out as the snoring continued.

* * *

><p>As she walked out into the sunshine, she saw a strange tree off in the distance and she began walking towards it, a fruity smell wafting through the air. Approaching the tree, she saw that there were berries ripening on it, with fully ripe ones falling to the ground periodically. She picked one up and studied it, making sure that it was not rotten, and then she took a bite. It was much sweeter than any berry she had tasted before, sweeter, in fact, than any flavors that had ever touched her tongue. Quickly she inspected a few more berries and put them with the rest of her berries in one of the suitcases.<p>

She continued walking through the grass, occasionally flushing out a Sentret or a Pidgey. She saw a sign just a few feet ahead:

**YOU ARE ENTERING CHERRYGROVE CITY**

_Good, _she thought. _Gives me a chance to get rested up for the walk to the next town. Damn, I'm thirsty._

She started to walk again, but then stopped.

_What if no one understands what I'm trying to say?_ she worried. _They may not let me keep going, or worse, they'll ignore my ownership card in my luggage and think I'm a wild Pokemon to be caught._

"_Snap out of it, Gardevoir," _she scolded herself. _"You'll find a way to manage."_

She continued walking until she found herself in the middle of the town. It was a lot smaller than she had expected: just a few houses, a PokeMart, and a PokeCenter. She decided to go to the PokeCenter first before carefully getting extra supplies.

She walked through the sliding electric doors of the PokeCenter and marched right up to the front counter, where a Nurse Joy was reading a magazine in her boredom. There were a few other people in the building, and Gardevoir could feel their eyes upon her as she set her luggage down.

_Must never have seen an actual Gardevoir before, _she mused.

She looked for a bell on the desk but found none, so she knocked on the counter instead. The nurse seemed unfazed by the knocking, looking tiredly upward. "How may I help-"

She stopped suddenly as she saw the Gardevoir in front of her.

"Uh, are you OK?" she asked. "You're not lost or separated or something, are you?"

"_I need to get to Celadon City, and FAST. Can you help me?" _Gardevoir asked.

"Hello? Are you OK?" asked the nurse again.

_Great,_ thought Gardevoir. _She can't "hear" me. This is not going to end well at all._

She reached down, opened one piece of luggage, pulled out her identification, and set it on the counter, all the while looking for a pen and paper to try to somehow communicate with the nurse. The nurse took one look at the identification card and drew the wrong conclusion. "You're separated from your trainer? OK, I'll place a call out for-"

Gardevoir snatched the card away and shook her head. She started making scribbling motions with her hand.

"Oh, there was a note or a letter that came with you," said the nurse, still not getting the point.

Gardevoir facepalmed and made the motions more furiously.

"You want something to write with?" the nurse asked, and a relieved Gardevoir nodded. The nurse handed her a pen and paper, and Gardevoir wrote out, "I AM TRYING TO GET TO CELADON CITY." She handed the paper to the nurse, who stared at the note before giving her a blank look. Gardevoir sighed and wrote on another piece of paper, "MY ORIGINAL TRAINER IS DYING AND I'M TRYING TO GET TO HIM," before handing that to the nurse as well.

A look of realization finally crossed the face of the nurse. "Oh, I get it, you don't know how to get to Celadon."

Gardevoir nodded in relief again.

Nurse Joy led her to the map on the wall. "First off, you need to go north of here through Violet City, then you have to go down Route 32 through Union Cave. Then you go through Azalea Town and the Ilex Forest, then you go north to Goldenrod City. There's a railway station there, and the high-speed train goes to Saffron City. From there, just go straight to Celadon. Here, I have an extra rail pass. You'll need it to get on the train to begin with."

She walked back to the counter and handed her the pass. "Did you understand what I just told you?"

Gardevoir nodded.

"Good. If you want, you can rest here a few minutes before you go on. It's a long hike, and you probably won't make it all in one day."

About fifteen minutes later, Gardevoir walked out of the PokeCenter, the pass in one of her bags. She had gotten a drink before leaving and had a couple of lemonades placed in one piece of luggage, so she was able to head straight for Violet City without having to make too many stops.

As she walked away, a small child and his mother were walking around when the boy saw Gardevoir leaving and he asked in a loud voice as children are wont to do, "Mommy, why is that lady so white?"

"Shh, no need to be so rude," his mother scolded him.

Gardevoir snorted to herself as she kept walking.

"_I have a feeling that I'm going to hear that a lot," _she muttered.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: Remember how I said that this was rated M partially due to strong language? Well, this chapter contains part of the reason why. I only own the original characters in this work of fiction and do not own Pokemon or any of their trademarks.**

The breeze was much stiller as Gardevoir continued on her journey. The heat, while not humid and oppressive, was still considerable, and sweat was beginning to form on her delicately pale body as she moved through the grass, flushing out many small birds and bugs along the way.

Of all the things she hated, it was bugs. She wasn't entirely sure why, though she figured being a Psychic-type had something to do with it. It was not on the level of being absolutely terrified when she saw one, but it was still not a pleasant encounter whenever one happened to cross her path.

She looked up at the sky as the noonday sun was beginning to slowly slide off into the distance. At the rate she was going, she knew that she'd be lucky to reach Violet City before nightfall. That knowledge alone caused her to quicken her pace in walking around a small cliff, but in her haste, she tripped over a rock and fell, nearly crushing her bags as she hit the ground.

"_Well, that was unnecessary," _she grunted as she started to get up, but then she came to a complete halt.

A tiny Caterpie had raised itself up on a thick stem of grass and was staring at her intently. Her fear of bugs reared its ugly head as she suddenly sat up and started backing away in a terrified crawl, her eyes never leaving the bug.

"_Oh shit,"_ she fretted. _"Oh shit."_

She kept repeating those words as she fearfully kept backing up, dragging the luggage with her.

It had been a very long time since she was this frightened. Not since she was a tiny Ralts had she felt this kind of deep-seated terror.

Her mind, trying to free itself from the state it was in, drifted back to Hoenn, back to what seemed like many ages ago, and suddenly….

* * *

><p>The soft tops of the grass tickled the nose of the Ralts as she tried to find her way back to what she remembered as home but what was more of a bare patch in all of the foliage than anything else. The grass made it hard to see, and having a messy helmet of hair in front of her red eyes did not help matters any. She used her small arms to brush the grass aside, repeatedly tripping over herself along the way.<p>

It was a warm day, but not hot. A gentle breeze caused the grass to sway a bit as she moved unsteadily around. She raised her head a bit to see where she was going, but all she saw was more grass. She kept pushing through, unsure of her surroundings, and then she bumped into something and fell down.

And then she heard the growling.

She looked up, scared by whatever it was she had heard, and saw a very upset Poochyena only a couple of inches away, fangs bared.

Frightened, she scrambled to her feet as best as she could, but the Poochyena knocked her down almost instantly. She tried to get up, only for it to knock her down again. She didn't know what to do, so she tried to crawl away, but it attacked her in mid-crawl, rolling her and ramming her with its head.

"RAL!" she squeaked, hoping that someone or something would hear her and chase the Poochyena away. But there was no reply, and the attacker continued to tackle her unabated. Ralts squeaked again, but it was much weaker than before, and she thought that this scary Pokemon would never stop hitting her.

Then she heard the voice.

"MUDKIP, GO!" it yelled, and upon hearing the voice, the Poochyena ceased its attacks and fled.

Ralts slowly got up, in serious pain from the assault, but then she saw a small blue Pokemon with an orange fin on top of its head staring at her. "Kip!" it barked.

"Ral?" squeaked Ralts. It was all she could muster.

Then, before she even knew what was coming, a small, round red and white object landed in front of her and opened up. She felt herself getting sucked towards it, but she was powerless to resist the pull as it closed itself around her.

Inside the thing, it was quite dark. There was a strange feeling to it, as it was not warm, but it was not quite cold either. The sensation was something she was unable to describe then or later as a Gardevoir.

After what seemed like an infinite length of time, she suddenly felt a different sensation as all the pain was lifted from her small body like a massive weight. A few minutes later, the thing opened up and she was rapidly yet safely ejected. She looked around her as best as she could before lifting her head up. She saw two tall dark blue things that seemed to stretch to the sky. She craned her neck as best as she could to see where they led, but she found herself unable to see far enough.

Then she suddenly felt herself being gently lifted into the air, and she found herself looking into the soft gray eyes of a human.

"Well, hello there, little thing," he said as softly as he could. Ralts began to whimper, and the human cuddled her close to him. "Shh, it's all right, kiddo, you'll be safe with me, OK?"

She didn't want to admit it, but it felt somewhat comforting to be close to him, his voice doing much to soothe her fears….

* * *

><p>A sudden hardness to the ground jarred Gardevoir back to the present. She looked and saw that she was well away from the Caterpie that she was so afraid of.<p>

Quickly, she got up, dusted herself off, picked up her bags, and continued walking. Remembering the day that she had been caught by Karl caused her to again quicken her pace, although she was much more cautious this time as she went effortlessly through the grass and continued on her way to Violet City….


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's notes: I do not own anything other than the original characters.**

**EliteDog: I see you noticed I put Gardevoir and Micah together already. Don't worry, all shall be explained soon. By the way, thank you and .owered for the comments.**

Gardevoir continued walking, the gateway to Violet City rising up in the distance. She had begun to push the unpleasant encounter with the Caterpie out of her mind, and she was now focused solely on trying to reach Celadon as quickly as possible. She didn't know how bad Karl's leukemia was, but she had a distressing feeling that in his condition, he could die at any time, and in light of Micah's worried remarks earlier in the day, she feared it would be sooner rather than later.

She only hoped that she would be fast enough.

She quickened her pace, being careful not to trip over any more rocks on the way. She knew that she had to stop soon and rest. The sun had begun to sink behind the trees on the horizon, and the shadows as she walked grew longer and longer behind her. There was no way she could possibly make it past Violet City before the world was absorbed into the darkness of the evening. She didn't know just how far she would have to travel to get to Celadon City, but she knew that she would need to conserve what energy she could.

She saw a small lake, very small, near what seemed to be the entrance to a cave. From a distance, the water shimmered in the sunset like it was ablaze. She drew closer to it, her throat parched from the heat. She was sorely tempted to drink one of the lemonades she had been given in Cherrygrove, but she was determined not to touch either of them until the next day.

She got down on her knees and looked into the water. Through the ripples, she saw her face, partially covered by her green hair. Her hair was moist from the sweat that had formed earlier, having been in the direct heat of the sun for most of the day. She brushed the hair away and stared into the reflections of her intense red eyes. There was a mixture of knowing and worry in those eyes, a mixture that deeply troubled her.

_I'm really taking this hard,_ she thought.

She leaned forward, cupped her hands together, scooped some of the cold water from the lake, and brought it over her face in one graceful motion. It was a refreshing feeling, especially in light of the heat of the earlier hours. She looked down again to see that the ripples had spread out and away from her, and her white face shone from the water she had poured on it. Carefully, she reached down again and, scooping the water again in her cupped hands, drank. Her thirst not quite quenched, she leaned forward again, but a sudden push sent her tumbling headfirst into the water.

She recovered from the shock as she floated to the surface, gasping for breath once she was clear of the water. Furious at the discourtesy, she looked around as she emerged from the lake, hoping to spot her attacker. She was upset to find that there was no one else around.

Then she heard a wickedly mischievous giggle.

"_Want to push me in again, jackass?"_ Gardevoir yelled.

The giggling continued, but she could not find the source. This only served to worsen her mood.

"_Cowardly little shithead!" _she shouted as she checked her bags, making sure nothing had been stolen. Everything was in its place, right where she remembered it.

The giggling faded, leaving Gardevoir with a mixture of relief and rage. She shook her head and snorted.

The gown that she had been wearing for most of the day was soaked from her unwanted dive into the water, and the relatively thin material now clung tightly to every curve of her body as she tried to loosen its grip, more out of mild physical discomfort than embarrassment. Her relatively large breasts stood out against the fabric as she slowly became successful at carefully separating skin from cloth. _If there was a wet T-shirt contest right now, I'd probably run away with first prize,_ she wryly mused.

* * *

><p>Thanks to her unexpected drenching, she had lost a lot of what sunlight was left, and the last rays were beginning to drain away as the stars grew more and more visible. Now she would be very hard pressed to reach Violet City without being able to see very much, as the moon was dark that night.<p>

_Not to mention there's a cliff between me and that gate,_ she realized. _Guess I have no choice but to stop here for the night._

She looked around for a safe spot off the route where she could sleep, hopefully without disturbances. She walked down a path and around a cliff, and soon enough, she found herself in front of the gate. _Heh. Well, maybe I'll get to Violet City after all,_ she thought as she entered.

There was a family of four inside the gatehouse, their backpacks on the floor next to them. The father looked like he hadn't shaved in a week, and he was trying in vain to get some sleep as the two young boys were creating an unpleasant state of chaos. Their mother was disheveled, as if she had not slept in a couple of nights, and dealing with one child running uncontrollably through the building and one crying nonstop was not helping her much.

"JEFFREY, GET OVER HERE AND LAY DOWN!" she was constantly yelling as the boy kept knocking over the small potted trees in his hyperactivity. The tired guard behind the counter had to keep walking over and cleaning up the wreckage. Of course, as soon as he got back to his post, another plant would come crashing to the ground, and with a great sigh, he would go back to cleaning up again.

For a moment, Gardevoir strongly contemplated going through the gatehouse and sleeping outside, closer to Violet City.

But then, she thought, _Even with these two disturbances, it'd probably be safer to sleep here than outside._

She set one bag in front of her and one bag where she planned to lay her head, and she got down on the ground and shifted a bit until she felt comfortable. She tried her hardest to relax in spite of the bright light and the noise, and she was beginning to drift into slumber when she felt a violent tug on her gown.

"JEFFREY, LEAVE HER ALONE AND GET BACK HERE NOW!" yelled the boy's mother.

Jeffrey only kept yelling in that pointless, drawn out yell that small children tend to do, running around some more before going back to Gardevoir and pulling on her hair with both hands.

"GARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" she screamed as she practically flew several inches off the ground in her pain. The scream only served to encourage the boy further, and he grabbed at her hair and her gown simultaneously. Jeffrey's mother finally was prompted by this to grab her son by the arm and drag him back to where they were.

"I'm so sorry about my son's behavior," she told Gardevoir. "This trip to Cherrygrove has been a complete test of our patience."

Gardevoir was too sore to reply. She fell back on her luggage and tried, once again, to sleep.

And, in spite of screaming children and screaming mother, she succeeded.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: Apologies if the battle scene is not very good. First time I ever wrote one of those. Language warning on this chapter, folks:**

In spite of screaming children and raging mother, Gardevoir was finally able to drift into sleep. Granted, sleeping on the floor of the gatehouse was not as comfortable as lying in a bed next to Micah, but at this particular point in her life, any port in a storm would be desirable.

As slumber came over her, so did her dreams, and with those came back memories. She drifted through the clouds of her past, feeling like a Swellow soaring from a great height….

* * *

><p>In the semi-light of the Dewford gym, a nervous sweat had overtaken Karl.<p>

Standing before him was the Fighting-type leader Brawly.

Karl had managed to use his Taillow to knock out his adversary's Machop and weaken his Meditite before having to send Marshstomp out to both finish Meditite off and buy him some time to give Taillow a Potion to help him gain some of his strength back.

Except Meditite managed to outlast Marshstomp and knocked him out, forcing Karl to send his flying type out earlier than he had wanted. Fortunately, it only took two Pecks to defeat the rival Pokemon, but the battle still left the bird weaker than desired, and Brawly was now going to send out his best fighter, Makuhita.

_I only hope Taillow holds out long enough to win, _Karl thought. _I really don't want to put Ralts in this kind of situation._

"Taillow, Peck!" he yelled, as the bird swooped down and struck the rotund Fighting-type with his beak.

"Bulk Up!" ordered Brawly, as Makuhita began to glow red, his muscles tensing as he did so.

"Peck again!" Karl called out, causing Taillow to strike Makuhita again. Brawly again ordered Bulk Up, and Makuhita obeyed, but it was clear that Peck was leaving its mark.

_One more should do it, _Karl thought excitedly, so he called for it once again, and once again the attack found its mark.

"Bulk Up one more time, Makuhita!" yelled Brawly, and Makuhita did so, but then the Pokemon suddenly tossed a berry in his mouth.

_Sitrus Berry,_ Karl realized._ SHIT._

The berry took immediate effect, restoring some of Makuhita's lost health.

"Taillow, don't fail me now," Karl muttered under his breath. Aloud, he called, "PECK!"

Taillow used Peck again, and again with success, but then Brawly dropped the bombshell on the bird.

"ARM THRUST!" he cried out, and with one violent motion, Makuhita's forearm collided with the bird, sending him flying into a nearby wall and knocking him out cold.

_Well, this sucks. I don't have a choice now._

"Go for it, Ralts!" he yelled, sending her Pokeball flying as she gained release.

She craned her tiny neck as far as it would allow, saw Makuhita, and instantly her heart sank.

_Of all the things for me to have to do, I have to beat this big one ALL BY MYSELF?_ she thought.

"Ralts, Confusion!" yelled Karl.

Steadying her nerves, Ralts used her Confusion attack, then looked up and was stunned.

"Vital Throw!" called Brawly, but Makuhita was in a state of confusion, and as he staggered around, he took a swing, spun in circles, and punched himself.

_Now or never, _thought Karl. "Confusion again!"

Ralts was again successful at using Confusion, which proved super-effective. Meantime, Brawly ordered for Vital Throw again, but again a confused Makuhita succeeded only in damaging himself.

"Confusion again, Ralts!"

"Ral!" she replied as she unleashed another wave of psychic fury on the fighter.

Brawly was on the verge of begging now. "Makuhita, Arm Thrust!"

Except once again Makuhita hurt himself in his confusion, and Karl suddenly thought, _Holy shit, Ralts might just win this damn thing!_

"One more Confusion, Ralts!" he yelled out, and this time, Ralts reached down within herself, and with whatever she could muster, let loose a wicked blast of Confusion. Makuhita staggered once, twice….

Then fell.

Brawly stared at the unconscious Pokemon for a while as the realization began to dawn on Ralts. _I-I did it. I won. I WON!_

She jumped up and down happily as the vanquished gym leader pulled a small box out of his pocket.

"Well, Karl," he said, "on this day you proved to be much too strong for me to bear. In recognition of-"

Suddenly, a strange feeling began to come over Ralts as she began to glow. _W-What's happening to me?_

The glow got brighter and brighter, and she felt a growing sensation as she heard the box fall from the hands of Brawly.

"She's evolving!" Karl cried out, grabbing the Pokedex out of his pocket as the glow finally subsided.

After recovering from the initial shock of the experience, she turned to Karl. "Kirlia?"

_Wait. That didn't sound right_, she thought. _Let's try that again._ "Kirlia?"

Surprised, she looked at herself. She no longer had that baggy gown or whatever that was around her. Instead, she saw a short skirt, with two spindly green legs emerging from the bottom.

_Well, this is an improvement. I think._

Karl nearly dropped his Pokedex.

It was all a blur after that: Brawly finally presented Karl with the Knuckle Badge, and then Karl left the gym and walked to the Pokecenter, Kirlia walking alongside him. It was the first time since she had met him that he had let her remain outside her ball after a battle. It made her feel special.

After the Pokemon had all been healed, Karl and Kirlia walked to the beach. It was a strange, yet satisfyingly welcome, sensation for her: the sand beneath her feet, the wind blowing in her hair, the fresh smell of the water….

"You did us all proud today, Kirlia," said Karl.

Kirlia leaned her head on Karl's leg and smiled. Karl watched the waves move close to shore as he gently stroked her cheek….

* * *

><p>She was pulled from her sleep by a gentle shaking sensation. Groggily, she opened her eyes and saw the guard crouching next to her.<p>

"Sorry to wake you up, but we gotta clear the building for the day," he said.

Gardevoir sat up. _"What time is it?"_

"Ten o'clock," he replied.

Gardevoir was taken aback. _"Y-you understand me?"_

"Yeah, I get psychics coming through here all the time and they do telepathic stuff. Some of those guys, it's the only way they'll communicate. So I had to learn it myself."

Gardevoir stood, stretched, and picked up her bags.

"Where ya headed to, anyway?"

"_Goldenrod City," _she replied.

"Well, you're in luck then," he told her. "You can just go straight through Violet City and then keep going straight to Goldenrod."

"_I thought I had to go through a cave and-"_

"Naw, that's outdated information ya got. There used to be what we all thought was a tree blocking our path, but it turns out it was a Pokemon and somebody caught it. Now we can just keep going right through to Goldenrod."

"_Thanks," _Gardevoir said appreciatively as she walked away.

"Don't mention it," the guard replied. "Hey, good luck!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: I own only the original characters, and do not own Pokemon or related trademarks, which are owned by Nintendo.**

**For the record, I did mention that there would be at least one lemon in this story. I want to save that for a later chapter so I can focus on telling more of the backstory. However, I **_**do**_** include some juicy bits to start us off….**

**Language warning applies to this chapter again as does one for content.**

Once outside of the gatehouse, Gardevoir immediately began searching for some very tall grass or a bush or any place where she could put on some cleaner clothes without being bothered. Even a nice, thick tree would suffice. Much to her consternation, however, the only area that offered any privacy was just behind the gatehouse.

_Guess it'll have to do, _she decided.

Looking around her carefully to make sure nobody else was around, she slipped around the corner of the building and opened up her luggage. Quickly, she stripped out of her gown and put that in one bag before hooking her barely-there panties with her thumbs and pulling them down, stepping out of them before putting them in the bag as well.

Standing there naked except for her sandals, she did have to admit to herself that she looked absolutely stunning. Her snow white skin gave off a glow in the semi-darkness that she stood in, causing her breasts to shine like dim beacons. Her fingers instinctively began to trace the curves of her body, lightly brushing her nipples along the way. Her hands ran down her slim abdomen and along the sides of her hips, her flesh tingling with the sensation.

She suddenly heard a rustling noise, causing her to jump slightly. She instinctively looked around, but all she saw was a Rattata scurrying along the wall.

"_Heh heh," _she chuckled nervously. _"Guess I should get going. Got no time to waste now."_

Reaching into one bag, she located and withdrew a red thong. She held it up to eye level for a few moments before noticing the two tiny lace hearts embroidered on the front.

"_These are the ones Micah gave me for Valentine's Day,"_ she reminisced. _"I hadn't seen him that happy in months. Oh my gosh, that smile that he had…."_

She stepped through the tiny panties and pulled them up, admiring how they really did, in their own sexy way, complemented her form. She then went through her clothes and pulled out a T-shirt with a very low-cut neckline. The cut was almost a must with her horn, which still stuck out slightly over the top of the fabric. Momentarily slipping off her sandals, she slipped into a nearly skintight pair of jeans before closing her luggage again and returning to her footwear.

She had to admit that the sun felt good on her skin as she stepped back onto the road to Violet City. The heat was not as oppressive as it had been the previous day, although there was still not much of a breeze.

A tiny reflected beam of light struck her eye, and she instinctively turned to see a shining in the taller grass. Her curiosity piqued, she followed the source of the light and was surprised to see a metallic object lying there. She picked it up.

"_Well, I'll be damned,"_ she mused. _"It's a nugget. Karl and Micah used to find these all the time. This may be of some use for me yet."_

Looking around to make sure that nobody was watching, she discreetly put the nugget in her luggage, making up her mind to sell it in Violet City at the Pokemart, if they had one.

She walked on, stopping for a moment to eat one of the very sweet berries she had taken the previous day. The taste was pure bliss on her tongue as she slowly consumed the fruit.

Suddenly, she heard that wicked giggle again, the same giggle that she had heard after she had been pushed into the lake. She looked around, a savage glare crossing her face, but saw nothing, and soon, the giggling ended as quickly as it started.

Still wary of her surroundings, she kept walking until she reached Violet City. Only then was she able to calm herself down.

* * *

><p>As she walked into town, she felt slightly underwhelmed. It was about as big as Cherrygrove had been, with a few extra buildings and a Gym to make up any deficiency in size.<p>

Further on down, she smelled cooking.

She searched right away for the Pokemart, and after a couple of frantic minutes, she finally spotted the familiar blue roof.

There was nobody there, save for a rather spaced-out looking young man behind the counter. Carefully pulling the nugget from the bag, Gardevoir walked up to him and set it down in front of him.

"_Excuse me," _she said, _"but I want to sell this nugget."_

The stoner stared off into the distance, like there was nothing there at all.

"_Ahem, begging pardon, but I have to sell this nugget."_

The kid behind the counter had no reaction.

In her frustration, she leaned over the counter, giving the cashier what she hoped would be a vision of cleavage so amazing that it would wake him from his stupor.

Still no response.

"_The hell with this," _Gardevoir fumed, and began to turn away.

"I can give you five K for it," the stoner said suddenly.

Gardevoir spun on her heel. _"What?"_

"Yeah, that nugget, it's, like, five K. I can pay five K."

_FINALLY! "I'll take it!"_

The cashier reached for the nugget, and for Gardevoir, it seemed like it took him several minutes just to touch the thing. It seemed to take longer for him to pull it towards him, and longer still for him to open the cash register and give her her money. Nevertheless, she finally took the cash and put it in her bag with the rest of her money.

"_Thank you," _she said.

The cashier had gone back to staring into infinite nothingness. Exasperated, Gardevoir walked out and immediately smelled cooking again.

* * *

><p>There were two diners, one with a sign reading "ALL POKEMON MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY THEIR TRAINER, NO EXCEPTIONS," and the other reading "FOR POKEMON ONLY." She walked into the latter and sat down at the front counter.<p>

A small, spiked paw was clutching an open newspaper two seats away, the paper concealing the reader's identity. A moment or two later, the paper lowered, and a Lucario peered over the top.

"_Hey, Wigglytuff, how much longer do I have to wait on my lunch?"_ he asked.

A rather tired looking Wigglytuff half-bounded, half-shuffled out of the kitchen. Her face was smudged with smoke and food grease. _"Have some patience. Still gonna take me a while yet."_

"_Great,"_ Lucario replied.

He glanced out from the corner of his eye and saw Gardevoir.

"_You ain't from these parts, are ya?" _he queried.

"_No, I'm just passing through,"_ she replied.

"_Oh? Where ya headed?"_

"_Celadon City. My first trainer has leukemia and isn't expected to live very long, so I'm trying to go see him before it's too late."_

Lucario set the paper down on the counter. _"Your first trainer?"_

"_Yeah, I was traded when I was a Kirlia."_

"_Mind telling me the story?"_

"_Mind one that takes forever?"_

"_I can handle it." _He slapped the counter as hard as he could. _"Wiggly! Get her the Generalissimo!"_

"_The what?"_ Gardevoir asked.

"_The Generalissimo," _Lucario explained. _"It's a massive burger made out of berries. It depends on what ones you like."_

"_I like all of them, actually."_

"_WIGGLY! Make it the Mega-Generalissimo!"_

Lucario spun in his seat until he was facing Gardevoir. _"Well? About that story-"_

"_You're right. I should get to telling it to you…."_

**Another author's note: Apologies for ending the chapter right there, but the story where Gardevoir gets traded as a Kirlia is going to be pretty long, and I didn't want to drag the chapter, and the waiting, out too long while I wrote it. So next chapter will see her tell the story.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: This is a continuation of the previous chapter, which ended with Gardevoir about to tell Lucario the story behind her trade to Micah.**

**Language warning:**

As Gardevoir began to reminisce about her days as a Kirlia, it seemed like she could drift back in her mind and smell the ocean breezes floating into Slateport City….

* * *

><p>Karl carefully set the Great Balls in the Ball Pocket of his pack as he and Kirlia walked away from the Pokemart. After all the battling he had done on the way from the beach, he had amassed a good sum of money and was able to spend it on supplies and balls. Such things would be vital to his future success, he knew.<p>

Kirlia was happily drinking a soda that Karl had earned by defeating several trainers in a house on the beach. The fizziness was pleasant on her tongue as she and Karl headed for the beach. It had been a long day, and they looked likely to stay there for the night.

"Didn't save any for me, did ya?"

Karl stopped suddenly and started looking for the direction the voice came from. Kirlia failed to notice this, being as absorbed as she was with the soda, and blissfully kept walking along.

A tall young man walked up from the beach towards Karl. His light blond hair was almost made white by the sun. He wore no shirt, which exposed his well-formed musculature to the sun.

"Figured you would have been halfway on the other side of the country by now," Karl replied.

"Nah, still got me a ways to go. Figured I'd walk back here and take some time to catch my breath."

"Oh," said Karl disappointedly. "Well, how far did you get?"

"Lavaridge," the young man replied. "Their gym leader is smokin' hot, man. And not just because of her looks. That gym's got a shitpot of Fire-types. Hope ya got-"

"I have a Marshstomp. Hopefully he'll be a Swampert when I get there."

"Great. Get another Water-type anyway. There, you'll need it."

Kirlia had wandered halfway to the water when she finished her soda and realized that Karl was nowhere to be found. She quickly turned around and ran back the way that she came, kicking sand in every direction behind her-

* * *

><p>"<em>I suppose I'm boring you," <em>Gardevoir said, interrupting herself.

"_Naw, not at all," _the Lucario replied. _"I thought it was pretty interesting, myself."_

Wigglytuff emerged from the kitchen with the berry burger and set it in front of Gardevoir. It was a seemingly insurmountable cooked mass situated between two halves of a Kaiser roll and slathered with ketchup, pickles, mustard, and chopped onions. She took one look at it and suddenly felt a very unsettling feeling in her stomach.

_Well, he WAS nice enough to get this made for me,_ she thought, _so I might as well eat it._

She picked up the burger, and after a moment's hesitation, opened her mouth as wide as she could and began moving the massive sandwich towards her. Halfway there, though, she paused, and, mouth still agape, glanced at Lucario.

Lucario was nonchalantly sipping from a coffee mug and not noticing her at the moment, so she finally took a bite from the burger. As she chewed, it occurred to her that she used to be able to describe the various foods she had eaten. On this occasion, however, she drew a blank. The only thing that came to mind was "different."

She swallowed the chunk, then asked, _"Do you want me to continue?"_

"_Oh, yeah, go right ahead," _said Lucario.

Gardevoir continued the story inbetween bites….

* * *

><p>By the time she had caught up to Karl, he and the young man had walked back towards the PokeCenter, with Karl seemingly oblivious to her absence. She ran until she was right beside him, then tugged on a pant leg. "Kir?"<p>

Karl looked down, a bit taken by surprise, then chuckled. "I wondered where you went."

"Nice, you got a Kirlia," the young man remarked. "I couldn't even find a damned Ralts anywhere."

"Yeah, she was one of the first ones I caught when I got here."

The conversation drifted to other things as they walked into the PokeCenter together, but after a short while, the young man, having put on a flower print shirt but leaving it open, pointed at Kirlia.

"Ya know, I hate to ask you this," he began, "but what would you say if I told you I'd trade you anything for your Kirlia?"

"I'd say you lost a few screws," Karl replied.

The young man gave him a very serious stare.

"No, c'mon, man, I couldn't do that to her. She trusts me way too much, I couldn't live with myself."

"Anything, Karl."

"Dude, fuck no."

The young man sat up straight in his chair.

"Karl, how long have we known each other for? Seven, eight years? Longer? Have you ever known me to NOT be good with Pokemon? If you're worried that I won't take care of her, then you're wrong. I would love nothing more than to have a Psychic-type on my team here, but goddamnit, you need to actually trust me for a change. I care for my Pokemon, whether I catch them myself or whether I get them via trade."

"I don't know, Micah, it's just-"

"It's just what? That she'll forget you ever existed? Dude, you may have saved her life before when you caught her. No way in hell she'll forget something like that. No way in hell she'll forget YOU for that."

Karl sat there, silent, head bowed. Kirlia was unsettled by the feeling she got from all of this.

Finally, he quietly asked, in a near-whisper, "What do you have?"

"Got Bellossom yet?" Micah asked back. "Last time we talked, you hadn't evolved one."

"No."

"Will that work?"

"I-I guess so…."

"Great!" Micah stood up. "Let me go over to the PC and get things arranged and we'll be all set."

As Micah walked away, Karl picked Kirlia up and set her on his lap.

"Kirlia, I know you're not going to like this, but I'm going to give you to Micah."

"Kir?"

"He's really a much nicer person than he seems, and I know he'll take care of-"

Karl broke down crying. Kirlia rubbed his head, but it only served to make matters worse.

Micah, standing off to the side, looked very uncomfortable.

"Are you sure you still want to do this?" he asked. "I mean, I can understand if you don't-"

Karl stood up. "Let's get this over with before I DO change my mind."

* * *

><p>"<em>That's it?"<em> Lucario asked. _"He just trades you away and leaves?"_

"_Well, not exactly," _Gardevoir replied over the last mouthful of burger._ "Last time I saw him, he was crying as he left the building. It really hurt to see him go like that."_

"_Had to have been tough for you to acclimate to a new trainer, too."_

"_It took some time before I got used to being around Micah. Except he usually kept me out of my ball, just like Karl did."_

"_So now let me get this straight," _Lucario said. _"He just trades you away even though he didn't really want to, and yet you're willing to forgive all that and go see him before he's dead?"_

"_Man saved my life. It's the least I can do for him."_

She began to open her luggage to find her money, but Lucario stopped her.

"_It's on me. Least I could do for ya."_

"_Thank you."_

"_Don't mention it. And good luck."_

Gardevoir picked up her bags and walked out.

Lucario watched her go, then sat back down. Wigglytuff came over to him. _"You really believe that story?" _she asked him.

"_Yeah." _He drained his mug. _"Yeah I do. And I hope she makes it there safe and sound before it's too late."_


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note: I own nothing other than the original characters.**

**Language warning:**

As Gardevoir left Violet City, feeling rather full from the lunch she had been given, she had to repeatedly duck birds that were flying out of control as men in overalls and heavy gloves chased them while carrying large birdcages. The frantic chasing seemed to leave the men exhausted before the birds tired out.

She soon found herself back on the road to Goldenrod, knowing as she walked that she'd likely have to stay there for the night before taking the train to Saffron. Even with the shortcut, it'd be a long walk, and by the time she got there it'd be dark again.

Suddenly, she heard a very loud engine coming up behind her. She turned, saw the truck speeding towards her, and dove for the grass at the edge of the road.

"WATCH WHERE YA GOIN', LADY!" yelled the fat, unkempt driver as he sped off out of sight.

Upset, Gardevoir picked herself and her luggage up.

_I hope he gets a flat tire. FOUR of them._

She stormed off down the road in a huff.

There were not as many trees along this road as there had been with the others, meaning the hot sun beat down hard on her as she walked on to Goldenrod. The sweat caused her T-shirt to cling tightly to her skin, making her nipples stand out against the fabric. _I think I may take a shower or something before I go to sleep tonight, _she decided.

Ahead of her, a young boy and a Kirlia were playing in the grass. It was not quite hide and seek, because the grass was not quite tall enough for that, but they seemed to be having great fun huddling down before mock pouncing each other and giggling.

Watching the two play brought tears to Gardevoir's eyes. It had seemingly been so long ago since she was a Kirlia herself….

* * *

><p>Micah sat and stared at Kirlia, who was morosely pushing a small ball (not a Pokeball of any sort) around.<p>

_It's been a couple of months now, _he thought. _I'd have figured she'd be over leaving him by now._

Sitting in the little blue plastic chair, Kirlia couldn't help but feel lonely. Sure, she and the other Pokemon spent a lot of time outside their balls so they could romp and play if they so chose, but she still felt out of place. To make matters worse, she still missed Karl a lot.

"_Think fast!"_

A big, furry paw suddenly appeared on the table and playfully swatted the ball at her. It flew off the table and nearly hit Kirlia as she had to react to the sudden action. She was able to grab the ball before getting struck, however, and she turned to see which one it was.

One glance up was enough for her to spot the strangely curved horn on the top of the Absol's head. He was usually very quiet, but always friendly, even to types he was strong against in his own party.

"_So," _he said, plopping down on his haunches next to her, _"why so glum today, kiddo?"_

"_I don't know, I just…." _Her voice trailed off.

"_Just one of those days, huh?"_

"_No, it's not that, it's just…. I miss my old master a lot. I mean, nothing against ours, but I just don't feel in place here."_

"_Aw, it can't be that bad, can it?"_

Kirlia sighed. _"I'm just worried that he'll forget all about me. I mean, yeah, he was sad to let me go, but I still think he might forget me."_

"_Naw, he wouldn't do that. As bad as he-" _Here Absol indicated Micah. _"-said he sounded when he traded you, there's no way he'd forget."_

"_Really?"_

"_Yeah. Heck, master talks to him on the phone everyday, and they always talk about you. I can't hear the conversations as well as I'd like, but he sounds like he still misses you but wants you to be happy with us."_

A tear came to Kirlia's eyes. _"I-I-"_

"_I think I know what might help to cheer you up," _said Absol as he walked to Micah and tugged on his sleeve.

"What? What is it, Absol?" Micah asked, startled by the tugging.

Absol went right for his master's pack, sniffing it and yipping. Micah got up, gave the Pokemon a strange stare, and then watched as Absol ran back and forth between the back and Kirlia, who was a bit stunned by his haphazard enthusiasm.

"Uh. OK, what are you trying to tell me?"

"SOL! SOL!"

"You want me to… you want me to give Kirlia something?"

Absol jumped up and down in agreement.

"Well, OK. Not sure what I can give her, but-"

As he spoke, he unzipped the pack, revealing a round object in a bluish wrapper. Absol instantly began sniffing at it and yipping.

"Now, Absol, you know how hard these things are to come by," admonished Micah. "I can't just be giving these out willy-nilly, you know."

Absol began trotting back and forth again, whimpering now.

"Oh, all right," Micah relented. "Hopefully I find another one of these soon, though."

He walked over to Kirlia, who was still sitting in her chair as she watched all of this transpire.

"Here you go, Kirlia," he said. "It's a Rare Candy. It'll help you out quite a bit, in more ways than one."

Kirlia took the candy from his hand and looked at Absol, who nodded.

"Kir," she said, thanking him.

She slowly unwrapped the candy and put it in her mouth. It had a strange sweetness to it as well as a softness, and she began chewing it, slowly so as to savor the taste.

Suddenly her chewing was stopped as her jaws were stuck together. The candy was perhaps _too _soft.

"Whoops," said Micah with a nervous chuckle. "Guess I left the pack out in the sun too often."

Slowly, yet surely, Kirlia was able to move her jaws once again and finish chewing the overly softened candy, finally swallowing it.

_Heh, _she thought. _That wasn't so bad after-_

Then she felt a strange yet familiar feeling come over her.

_Oh great._

"Kirlia, get out of the chair!" Micah yelled as she began to glow, but he was too late as she was in shock over the sudden onset of her transformation.

Then there was a loud _CRACK_ followed by a crashing.

She sat, dazed, on the floor, the little chair in pieces around her.

_Shit, that hurts, _she thought. _Might as well try to say my name right now so I got it out of the way._

She opened her mouth to speak, and what came out was "Gardevoir?"

Micah felt something catch in his throat and gulped a bit louder than he had intended.

Gardevoir looked down to study her new form. She was now wearing a much longer gown than before, one which made her look much more graceful and elegantly beautiful. She felt around her head, but did not feel any horns there, although her hair had taken on a whole different style, covering part of her face.

Then she looked down and spotted the red thing protruding from her chest and realized that the horns just migrated. Surrounding the front horn, however, were two fairly large, round, soft things that felt like they were a natural part of her.

_Well, hello there,_ she thought. _Where did you two come from?_

"Gardevoir, are you all right?" asked a nervous Micah.

"_Yeah, I'm fine, I think. I don't think I have any plastic splinters in my ass."_

"Wait, how come I was able to hear that?"

Gardevoir was stunned into silence for a couple of moments. _"We-we must be able to communicate telepathically!"_

"Th-this is wonderful!" exclaimed Micah. "I mean, I, uh, wow!"

All while thinking, _That is the most beautiful thing I have ever laid eyes on. Am I in love?_

* * *

><p>Gardevoir had continued reflecting as she finally reached Goldenrod City. A short distance inside the city limits, she saw three hotels. One had a sign reading "FOR HUMANS ONLY," another had one that read "POKEMON MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY TRAINER," and the third read "FOR POKEMON ONLY." The word "VACANCY" was illuminated in neon lights.<p>

She entered the third hotel and stopped at the desk. A Clefairy sat behind the counter, and she hopped up when she saw Gardevoir approach. _"Need a room?" _she asked.

"_Just for the night. Nothing too fancy."_

"_Hon, ALL of our rooms are nothing too fancy, but they're not crappy, either. One night, forty-five bucks."_

Gardevoir gave her the money from her bundle in her luggage, and Clefairy gave her the card key.

"_Thank you," _Gardevoir told her.

Clefairy, however, was already absent-mindedly playing with the money and whatever else was on the desk, so Gardevoir went up the stairs to her room, deciding that she would take a shower as soon as she got settled in for the night.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's note: OK. I've put it off long enough. It's time for me to finally give you the chapter we've all been waiting for.**

**Language and extremely strong sexual content warning:**

Gardevoir set her luggage on the floor and fell backwards onto the bed. She was surprised by how soft and plush it was.

_If I wasn't so set on getting a shower, I'd just drift off right now, _she thought.

Nevertheless, she remained staring up at the ceiling for a couple of minutes before she caught herself getting drowsy. Shaking herself awake, she got up and turned the water on in the shower.

She went back to her luggage and grabbed her soap and shampoo. Even if the hotel had its own already, she always made it a point to bring hers. She also grabbed a towel before returning to the bathroom.

She slipped her sandals off before unbuttoning her jeans, loosening the zipper, and pulling them off. Setting those aside, she stripped off her shirt and set that on top of her pants before pulling down her thong and placing it with the rest of the clothes. Then, taking soap and shampoo with her, she entered the shower itself.

The warm water hit her like a pleasing return to normal after the craziness of the past forty-eight hours. Had it really been that long since she and Micah shared that kiss goodbye outside that hotel?

Remembering the kiss awakened lust in her. She wished that Micah was with her at that moment, holding her in his arms, touching all the places she needed him to touch. Her body ached with desire as she slid to a sitting position on the floor of the shower and let the water pour over her like the flood of memories that she could not escape….

* * *

><p>After evolving into a Gardevoir, she and Micah felt closer than ever.<p>

Originally, he kept her out of her Pokeball at night so she could sleep in relative comfort. Although every time they were lucky enough to stay at a hotel, she always, to her puzzlement, got the bed while he took a chair to sleep in. At the time, she chalked it up as just a sacrifice he was making for her to be happy with him.

Then, one night, she couldn't bear to see him sleep in clear discomfort anymore.

"_You know, master, you could always sleep in the bed too," _she offered. _"It's too big for just me."_

"Are you sure you want to do that?" he asked, thinking all the while to himself, _If she knew the feelings I have for her right now…._

"_Of course I'm sure," _she assured him. _"Maybe you'll be able to relax better this way."_

Micah smiled.

"Well, all right, I guess," he said, walking over and sliding under the covers with her. "Hate to deprive you of your beauty rest, though."

He rolled over, his back turned. Gardevoir tried to sleep, but couldn't. She was now experiencing feelings that she never knew she had, feelings of desire and longing, of love and lust. She turned in the bed until she was facing Micah's back. _"Master, could I maybe ask you something a little, uh, personal?"_

"What?" he replied, without turning over.

"_Have you ever been in love?"_

"I might have. I don't remember."

"_Have you ever been so much in love that you just, I don't know, let go of yourself?"_

Micah rolled over on his back. "Might have. Why?"

"_I don't know, it's just…." _Her voice trailed off.

"It's just what?"

"_Nothing. It's too strange to tell."_

"I'm a very strange person, I can handle it."

"_Well, ever since I evolved, master, I just feel… different. Like, I don't know, a woman. Inside and out. And I just have these feelings like I need to be with someone or something, and I just get so worked up and-"_ She stopped. _"I'm bothering you, aren't I?"_

"What? No!" Micah replied, surprised.

"_Well, I don't know how to say this, it just feels weird, but…."_

Micah waited, but Gardevoir had stopped. _"You'll think it's silly."_

"No, I wouldn't," he replied. "So just say it."

Gardevoir took a deep breath. _"I think I'm, I'm, I'm, uh, I'm, uh-"_

"What?"

"_Attracted," _she finished in a small, embarrassed voice.

"To who? Me?"

Gardevoir faintly nodded.

_Holy shit,_ thought the stunned Micah. _The feeling IS mutual. She just doesn't know it yet._

"_You think it's silly, don't you?"_

"No, no, I don't think it's silly at all, Gardevoir."

"_But it's not attraction like Pokemon to master or anything like that," _she persisted. _"It's more like, like love. And I don't mean 'I love my master so much I'll roll over, pant a lot, and beg for a tummy rub" love either, I mean it feels more like romantic love."_

Micah felt dazed. Here was this beautiful Pokemon lying next to him in bed, telling him that she was in love with him. He didn't know what to say out of fear that he would mess this moment up.

Gardevoir sighed. _"I shouldn't have told you this, I mean, you probably think it's weird for me to be in love like this."_

"Well, honestly, I don't think it's weird at all. Actually, Gardevoir, I, uh, I kinda feel the same way too."

Her heart skipped a beat as she heard this. _My god, this feels so unreal right now._

Micah rolled over to face her, and the two just stared deeply into each others' eyes for a few moments.

Then he reached out with one hand and gently stroked her cheek, causing a shiver to run through her. Just as gently, he pulled her close and kissed her.

The kiss sent shockwaves through the Pokemon as she returned the kiss, and the two lay there, their lips embracing, their tongues finding one another in the dark. He put his arm around her, his hand carefully feeling up and down the length of her spine as she did the same to him.

After a few moments of this, she pulled away and put her hands on her gown. _"Please," _she asked as she pulled it down, revealing her white breasts in the faint light, _"I want you to make me feel special, master."_

Micah was not a stranger to the ways of sex, and yet he knew that Gardevoir was something different. Here was a creature so willing to give her body up to him even though she likely had no idea what to truly expect, all because she was so strongly in love with him. His hands reached for her breasts, lovingly caressing them as his thumbs gently massaged her hard nipples. He could feel her body tense with the pleasure that she felt as his thumbs carefully twirled each nipple, causing sensation after erotic sensation to pulse through her.

His lips traveled from her face slowly down her neck and her collarbone before migrating to her breasts, licking her nipples and causing her back to arch in reaction. She held his head close to her breasts, and he could feel her rapid heartbeat as he continued to suck and lick her.

He worked his way lower, slowly so as to maximize the pleasure that she would receive. She knew where he was headed, so she pushed her gown past her waist, exposing the rest of herself to him. When he got to the point that he had been seeking, he gently spread her legs and lowered his head close to her slit, running his tongue along the soft folds. Each movement sent another sensation through her body as she began to emit low moans. Soon, he was pushing his tongue in as far as it would go, causing Gardevoir to instinctively start to buck her hips up and down and forward as she felt herself completely surrender to the ecstasy she was in. She reached out and held his head close to her as his tongue continued to dart in and out of her.

Micah then traced his way back up her body until he got to her mouth, and he poured the kisses in as Gardevoir reached ahead and pulled down his pajama bottoms. His penis burned like a welcome flame against her skin as she slid down and, with her hands, began to rub him along his shaft, occasionally running her fingers around his scrotum as well.

_So unbelievable, _she thought madly to her self, _and yet I need it so much!_

She lowered her head and began to lick all over the seven inches of him that was as hard as granite now. Then she wrapped her mouth around his tip and started sucking, rotating her head as she continued to caress him with her tongue before lowering her head further and taking as much of him into her mouth as she could, then pulling back up until she just had the tip. She kept doing this, moving faster as she did so.

"Oh god, Gardevoir, your mouth… so warm…." Micah groaned as she continued to suck him.

After a few minutes, where she alternated between sucking fast and slow, she stopped, and she rolled over on her back, gazing at him with longing eyes. _"Master, I'm ready."_

"Are you sure?" he asked. "It's your first time, so it'll probably hurt a bit at first."

"_I can handle it. I just want you inside of me, master," _she replied.

"Well, OK," he said with an awkward smile as he spread her legs further and put himself between them. Grasping his penis, he began to rub the lips of her slit with his tip, causing her to buck and twist with every ounce of pleasure that he was giving her.

Then he began to push in, very slowly. Gardevoir let out a loud, instinctive moan, almost animal-like.

"Uh, do you want me to go slow or-" Micah began.

"_DO IT! GET IT OVER WITH SO I CAN DRIVE YOU WILD!" _she virtually yelled at him.

Micah thought about saying something but didn't. Instead, he kissed his fingertips and touched them to her face as he thrust forward, breaking her virginity. Her face took on a look of pain, causing him to stop where he was for a few minutes, still hard, but not moving. He felt embarrassed, as if he wished it'd been someone or something else that had taken that last symbol of innocence from her.

"_Did you ever have to do that before?" _she suddenly asked him, the tone in her voice suggesting that the pain was dying down.

"Yes, once."

"_Did you feel bad about it that time, too?"_

_She sensed it, _he realized. "Yeah, a little bit."

"_Well, the pain's almost gone now, just go slow for a while, OK?"_

In reply, Micah pushed the rest of the way in, causing her to arch her back again.

As slowly as he entered, he began to pull most of the way out, then went just as slowly back in. With each thrust and partial withdraw, he began to slowly increase his speed, sending sparks flying through Gardevoir's head as every sensitive area in her vagina was stimulated by his length.

He pulled all the way out momentarily, and on some primal instinct, she rolled over so that she was on all fours, lowering herself down on her forearms and wiggling suggestively at him, a seductive smile on her face.

Smiling himself, Micah entered her again, his thrusts causing her to arch lower in pleasure as he was soon rapidly moving in and out, his balls touching her opening as he went deeper and deeper.

Finally, having been pushed dizzyingly almost all the way to her limit, then being relaxed back down before steadily and rapidly charging towards the peak again, she felt herself clench around him and she came, her screams and moans of pleasure having reached their highest point as she felt everything spin around her and toss her up, faster and faster, building up to her release before she could slowly sink back down to equilibrium.

At the same time, she felt a final thrust, then he began to throb inside of her as jets of warmth began to shoot deep inside her body and he came to his own release.

He pulled out, fluids still dripping from them both as she turned towards him and he collapsed on his back, panting.

"That was the most incredible feeling I have ever experienced," he said, awestruck.

"_It was lovely for me too, master," _she replied.

They said not another word the rest of the night as they fell asleep in each other's arms. The last thought that was in her head as she drifted into slumber was that she felt more like a beautiful woman now than ever before in her life….

* * *

><p>The memory of that night invaded Gardevoir's mind while she was in the shower, and in reminiscing about that night, she instinctively began rubbing her soft slit, fondling her wet breasts as she guided herself to her peak. Soon, she came again, her juices flowing from her as she felt the sensations subside.<p>

She stood up and finished showering in silence.

* * *

><p>After drying herself off and brushing her teeth, she flopped back on the bed, naked, staring at the ceiling. She looked at the bathroom, then at the main door, half-expecting Micah to walk in, smile, then get ready for another wild night of lust.<p>

Alone, she let out a sigh.

"_Shit," _she said softly in disappointment as she drifted off to sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: I own nothing but the original characters. Pokemon and related trademarks are the property of Nintendo.**

**EliteDog: Yeah, the lemon I wrote was not as strong as some I've read, but I figured better safe than sorry on the warning. (Though to be honest, for my first sex scene, I think it turned out pretty good.)**

**Language warning on this chapter:**

The light poured into the window and began to warm Gardevoir's body awake as she lay on the bed. She started to open her eyes, but she had to turn away from the window because the sun was blinding her.

_Damn, _she thought, _how long was I asleep?_

She looked around for a clock on the wall and was relieved to find one.

_Only seven o'clock? Damn, it gets light early here._

She willed herself off the bed and began rummaging through her bags in search of clean clothes. Pulling out a pair of boyshort panties, she stepped through them and pulled them up. She then grabbed a tank top and a pair of shorts and set them on the bed as she ate a couple more of the berries she had found at the start of her journey.

An hour later, having gotten dressed and having packed her bags back up, she left the card key at the desk and watched as the Clefairy attending playfully tossed it around and around.

She walked on until she came to the railway station.

There were more people than Pokemon in the station as she walked inside. As far as she could tell, she was the only Pokemon who was unattended. She took the rail pass out of her luggage and walked up to a man in a dark, official-looking uniform.

"_Which train goes to Saffron City?" _she asked him.

He looked up at her, his face blank. He glanced down, saw her luggage, then asked, "You alone?"

She nodded.

"Train 2 is the Pokemon-only train. That goes to Saffron. We leave in ten."

She walked off, looking for Train 2. She didn't have to look for long, as she approached a set of cars that seemed to convey a modern-day Art Deco image. She climbed aboard and began to hunt for a seat.

There were very few Pokemon on the train with her. A couple of Meowth were playing some card game that she wasn't paying attention to, and a Banette stood on her seat and looked out the window in her loneliness, but that was it for regular passengers. A solitary Machoke pushed a cart up and down the aisle as Gardevoir took a seat.

At least the car seemed clean and comfortable to ride in.

Absent-mindedly, she stared out a window as the train began to slowly pick up steam and leave the station.

She watched the hills and cliffs roll by as Machoke walked up the aisle again. The two Meowth were still engrossed in their card game. Meanwhile, the Banette walked over to her, showing no fear despite being a Ghost-type and thus weak to Psychics.

"_Is it all right if I sit here?" _the little Pokemon asked. _"It's supposed to be a long trip."_

"_Be my guest."_

"_Thanks!" _said Banette gratefully as she hopped into the empty seat next to Gardevoir. _"It's not every day a Psychic-type lets me sit this close to them."_

Gardevoir smiled. _"Well, today's your lucky day. So where are you headed?"_

"_I'm off to Lavender Town to be with other Ghosts. How about you?"_

Gardevoir told her, and in the process told her most of the story about her time with Micah. Deciding to err on the side of prudence, she did not tell her traveling companion that she and Micah were lovers.

"_So you helped him beat the Elite Four and become Hoenn's Champion?" _Banette asked. _"That sounds pretty exciting."_

"_Well," _Gardevoir began, _"you should have been there…."_

* * *

><p>Micah was feeling desperate as he stared at the Champion, Wallace.<p>

Wallace was now down to his final Pokemon, but it was his strongest: Milotic. Micah still had his Gyrados on hand, but he had been battered mercilessly against Wallace's own Gyrados, and now he was in sorry shape. Nevertheless, Micah desperately hoped that he could hang in there and win this last battle. He had Gardevoir in reserve in her ball, but since they first made love, he had grown increasingly reluctant to let her battle, knowing that if something terrible happened to her, he would place the blame on himself and bear it the rest of his life. She, on the other hand, was obsessed with strengthening her abilities in order to be ready for the Elite Four, and was willing to fight anything that moved. She even tried to fight a few trees, but that met with little success.

And now, with everything on the line, Micah was having a major nervous fit.

"Gyrados, Hydro Pump!" he yelled, the uncertainty looming in his voice.

The dragon reared back before letting an explosive, high-powered stream of water loose, but Milotic gracefully ducked it and all Gyrados succeeded in doing was to soak the nearest wall.

Without so much as blinking, Wallace commanded, "Ice Beam!"

Milotic unleashed an icy blast that slammed into Gyrados, spinning him wildly around for a few moments before he crashed into the ground unconscious.

_FUCK!_ thought Micah.

"Last one, Micah," Wallace notified him. "For your sake, it'd better be your strongest."

"Unfortunately for me, I don't know if she really is," Micah said, sadly thinking to himself, _I can't believe I'm actually doubting her right now. _With a deep breath, he took her ball from his belt and let it fly. "GARDEVOIR, GO!"

She burst from her ball and landed on her feet, and that's when she looked up.

_Holy shit._

"Gardevoir, use Psychic!" Micah yelled.

_Well, here we go, _thought Gardevoir as she began concentrating firmly on Milotic, soon unleashing a powerful wave of energy that stunned the rival Pokemon.

"Milotic, Surf!"

Much to Gardevoir's dismay, a wave suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and as she was nailed by both it and Milotic, she struggled to keep her head above water.

When the wave receded, Micah called, "Gardevoir, Hypnosis!"

Gardevoir, soaked almost to the bone from the last attack, stared as deeply into her foe's eyes as she could, but before she could finish the attack, Milotic turned away.

_SON OF A BITCH!_

Then she noticed the chewing the Milotic was doing, and then a familiar smell hit her, and her heart sank. _Sitrus Berry. You gotta be fu-_

"Ice Beam again!"

_OH SHIT._

The beam traveled much too quickly for her to run, and in her desperation, she remembered what she had kept in her bra for safekeeping.

_I knew wearing a bra in spite of my horn would have a purpose, _she thought as she rapidly pulled an Aspear Berry from her cleavage and stuffed it in her mouth as the beam hit her, encasing her in ice.

Micah did not see her withdraw the berry, and was now frantically searching for a Full Restore, knowing that was his best chance to save her and stay in the battle.

He found his last one and was going to use it when he saw a puddle forming at the bottom of his frozen lover. Moments later, the ice block shattered as she broke free, swallowing the last chunk of berry and turning to face Milotic, evil intent in her eyes.

* * *

><p>Gardevoir was telling her story when Machoke pushed the cart near them again.<p>

One of the Meowth was dancing on the table in celebration of his win when he lost his balance and fell onto the cart, tipping it over and sending its contents flying. Gardevoir tried to get out of the way, but was too late as she wound up with coffee and pasta sauce and other things all over her.

"_Oh dear! I am so sorry, miss!" _exclaimed the Machoke as he began to clean the mess up.

Gardevoir left her seat and began to head towards the restroom.

"_Where are you going?" _Banette asked. _"Aren't ya gonna finish your story?"_

"_I'm headed to the ladies' room to clean up. You want to follow me over and hear the rest?"_

Banette followed her, and she continued:

* * *

><p>Feeling a sudden burst of hope, Micah yelled, "Try Hypnosis again!"<p>

Gardevoir tried again, and this time, she was successful. Milotic was asleep.

Now Wallace was frantically hunting for something to end his Pokemon's slumber. "Toxic!" he yelled, but got no reply.

"Gardevoir, Dream Eater!"

Gardevoir held out her hand as a red stream engulfed the sleeping foe. She felt herself grow stronger as she sucked the energy from Milotic.

"DAMN IT!" yelled Wallace. "I used my last Full Restore earlier! All I have is Full Heal!"

He took the spray container and sprayed it into Milotic, awakening her but costing him a turn.

_Oh no, _Micah thought. _With Milotic awake, Gardevoir is going to have a hell of a time trying to finish her off._

There was only thing he could try now that could end it on the spot, but he knew how dangerous it would be.

_I love you, Gardevoir, _he thought to himself.

Then, at the top of his lungs, he let out a scream of "HYPER BEAM!"

Gardevoir, knowing the gravity of the situation, summoned every last bit of energy in her body as she began to glow brighter and brighter. She felt like she would explode.

Then she opened her mouth and unleashed a massive orange beam at Milotic.

The blast smashed her foe through a wall, leaving a massive hole. Gardevoir herself was knocked off her feet by the powerful recoil and slammed backwards into the wall and fell motionless.

Horrified, Micah ran over to her. She was weakly coughing and shaking as she lay facedown on the floor. "Oh my god, Gardevoir, are you all right?"

"_Never ask me to do that again," _she said, trying to catch her breath.

Wallace walked back in through the hole. "Well, congratulations. I've never seen anyone destroy that wall in a while. We had that happen a couple of times in the past but we repaired it easily because it usually was some small damage. This?" He swept his hand over the destruction. "This may take a while. And you knocked Milotic cold. Congratulations, Micah Gilchrist, you are the new Hoenn Pokemon League Champion!"

Micah and Gardevoir were speechless for a few moments, then they looked into each other's eyes and began kissing passionately. Wallace didn't even bat an eye.

After a few minutes of embracing, Gardevoir, her clothes in shreds, so much so that they were really non-existent, leaving her bra in tatters and only leaving her thong intact, pulled away from Micah's lips. _"Master, could I maybe ask for one small favor?"_

"Anything for you," he replied.

"_The last lemonade. I want it."_

Wordlessly, Micah reached back into his bag, found the lemonade, opened it, and gave it to her.

She chugged it down in seconds. Then she lay on her back, stared at the ceiling, and let loose a loud and very unladylike belch.

* * *

><p>Gardevoir stood topless in the bathroom, trying to scrub the debris from her tank top. Banette sat on the edge of the sink as if it was the most natural thing in the world. <em>"So what happened after that?" <em>she asked.

"_Not much. We got registered in the Hall Of Fame for winning, then we went out and healed up and celebrated. Of course, later that night, we had a celebration of a much more intimate sort. Strange thing, though," _she added. _"We went all night and into the next day, making love in the bed, on the floor, on the table, and in the shower, and yet just for a few moments after we beat the Elite Four and Wallace, the feeling I had after we won was better than all the sex I had experienced. Still isn't much that can top that for me."_

She looked up and saw buildings fly blurrily past through the window. _"I think this is my stop."_

"_Mine too," _said Banette, hopping down as Gardevoir put her wet top back on.

Several minutes later, the two said farewell and wished each other luck on their respective journeys.

* * *

><p>Gardevoir walked out of the depot, bags in tow, and was crossing the road when a truck swerved around the corner at high speed and nearly hit her. She jumped out of the way just in time as she caught a glimpse of the driver through the driver's side mirror and saw, to her disgust, that it was the same idiot who almost ran her over the day before.<p>

"GET OUT OF THE ROAD, YA DUMB BROAD!" he yelled as he drove away.

Enraged, Gardevoir raised both hands and gave him the double bird.

It was the best non-sexual feeling that she had felt in weeks.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's note: This is the next to last chapter in this story. Hopefully you've found it to be interesting reading thus far. Apologies if the previous chapter wasn't very good. Again, I don't think I'm very good at writing battles. **

**And as pointed out by Elite Dog (thanks for the comment, I didn't notice how bad I messed it up until you pointed it out), I seriously botched some of the type alignment stuff, although maybe this is because I always thought that Ghost-types were weak against Psychics. Maybe this had to do with me being able to kick the asses of Gastly and its evolutions because they're part-Poison. Whoops. Better luck next time?**

**Also, as for where Gardevoir initially says nothing about her relationship with Micah but towards the end she says quite a bit about it, I didn't notice that until after I uploaded it. I guess the only logical explanation is that she mentions what happened immediately after she defeated Milotic and Banette put two and two together and it was too late for Gardevoir to try to paint that as anything other than what it really was without looking like the worst damn liar on the planet. Lame explanation, I know, but that's all I got. **

**So yeah, Chapter 12 was kind of a dud. Again, my apologies.**

**Hopefully, this story has been able to help me with my creative skills so I can work on other stories for posting here as well. I'm planning a crime drama Pokemon fanfic next, so I'm looking forward to seeing how that turns out.**

**For now, though, there's this story to bring to a close. Language warning again:**

As soon as she was past the city limits, Gardevoir began to run.

It had been two days since she had kissed Micah goodbye and started off to be with Karl one more time. She had somehow managed to cram more into those two days than she could have ever imagined doing in a month. And her journey was not over yet.

The gatehouse forced her to stop running, but only for a moment, as she opened the door and ran to the other end, throwing the door open and charging off again.

The road was much longer than she had expected, and the day was sweltering hot. The remains of the food spilled on her during her ride on the train had begun to dry on her skin and hair. She didn't want Karl to see her like this.

Much to her relief, there was a pond nearby, tucked innocently behind several feet of brush. She braved her way through the thick foliage and finally made it through, slightly dirtier from the dry twigs breaking against her skin, but unhurt nonetheless.

It was then that she noticed the clear path that led to the pond, and she facepalmed in her embarrassment.

Shaking the thought from her head, she quickly dropped her luggage, stripped out of her clothes, and plunged into the water. It was rather lukewarm, yet not exactly unpleasant as she scrubbed the grime away as best as she could. The water glistened on her white flesh, giving her a supernaturally glowing appearance.

She turned in the water and was shocked to see her bags missing.

"_What the-" _she began, but then she heard a too-familiar giggling, and as she looked around in her rage, she saw the small, shadowy figure of a Gengar running as fast as he could with her things.

"_HEY! THAT'S MY GODDAMN LUGGAGE!" _she yelled as she charged full speed out of the water and chased after the ghost.

_"HEHEHEHEHMINEMINEMINEMINEMINE!" _laughed Gengar as he sped away.

"_GET BACK HERE, YOU ETHERAL LITTLE TROLL!"_

As she ran naked down the road, it occurred to Gardevoir how funny it must seem to a random passerby to see a mischievous Gengar rapidly floating down the road with two heavy pieces of luggage and being chased by a wet Gardevoir noticeably missing her gown or any other item of clothing. Either they'd shrug it off as a heat-induced hallucination or they would run around and tell everyone of what they saw until they were finally carried away to a mental sanitarium.

_Fortunately, the little asshole is part-Poison, _she remembered. _This ought to make my job easier._

She began to glow even brighter in the hot sun as she unleashed Psychic on the thief, knocking him down and sending her bags spinning on the ground. The dazed Gengar looked up to see an angry naked Pokemon standing over him.

"_Shove me into pools and steal my things, will you?" _she snarled as she lifted him up, malice in mind. _"Maybe you'd like to go flying into another time zone?"_

"_NONONONONO! Please don't hurt me! I'll give you your things back!" _pleaded Gengar.

"_Damn right you will!"_ she yelled as she forcefully tossed him to the ground.

"_Here! Take it back! All of it!" _uttered the frightened ghost, pushing the bags towards her.

She began to pick them up, but stopped. Straightening up, she started glowing again, panicking the Gengar. He tossed a package of berries at her that he had tried to steal from one bag. She caught it, then started glowing again. Gengar tossed all of her money back at her, which finally sated her wrath.

"_Now hightail your ass out of here before I decide to help you do it!"_ she ordered.

"_OK, OK, OK! You don't need to hurt me anymore! I'm leaving!" _said Gengar hurriedly as he wriggled free from her grasp and was soon gone.

Gardevoir opened up one bag and began to search for a clean gown and clean panties. The heat, combined with her running, had mostly dried the moisture from her hair and the surface of her skin. If nothing else, it had left her with some dust on her feet and ankles, but she was still clean otherwise.

A few minutes later, having put on a neon green T-string and a clean gown, she continued on down the long road to Celadon City.

* * *

><p>Four hours had passed, and the rays of the sun had begun to noticeably slant. The heat had begun to slowly diminish as well.<p>

A weary Gardevoir felt like she was burning in the hot summer sun, her feet dragging her along as her tired arms barely held up her luggage.

Then, in the distance, she saw tall buildings in the skyline, and one had letters on it visible from where she stood a couple of miles away:

**CELADON GENERAL HOSPITAL**

Something came upon her, a realization that she was so close, and a sudden burst of what she could only figure was adrenaline surged through her veins as she broke into a frenzied run. Past many confused people she charged, not taking her eyes off the hospital. As she came closer, she spotted an older couple standing outside, and the woman noticed her and pointed. "That's her! That's the one Micah was telling us to watch for!"

_That must be Karl's parents!_

The couple rushed over to her as she ran towards them. "Oh my god, we're so glad you made it!" said the woman as she wrapped Gardevoir in a hug, completely unfazed by her chest horn. Then they hurried the Pokemon towards the door, saying, "At least Karl will get to see you before it's too late, we hope."

As they entered, one of the nurses saw Gardevoir and had her mouth open to protest, but the man, who Gardevoir assumed was Karl's father, waved her away. "It's OK, she's with us."

The nurse moved out of the way as the trio went straight for the elevators, taking the first empty one.

"Micah, your master, called us and told us you were on your way. He said he wanted to come himself but couldn't so you volunteered to visit our son in his place?"

Gardevoir nodded.

"You have no idea how much that means to us," his father said, trying not to break down.

The door opened, and the three hurried out. Gardevoir was almost running again, so Karl's parents yelled, "Room 243!"

Gardevoir began mentally counting off doors: 237, 239, 241.…

She slowed down, saw the number 243 outside the door, and walked in.

What she saw left her in a mixture of shock and horror.

Karl lay in the bed, pale as the sheets that covered him. His hair had fallen completely out. His body seemed to have wasted away, IV needles in his arms leading to bags of fluids. A machine that Gardevoir could not identify was helping him breathe, but only barely.

She set her bags down and slowly approached him, moving a chair to bedside and sitting down. Karl's eyes slowly opened, and he just as slowly turned his head, saw her, and smiled.

"So, somebody tells me you're good at communicating telepathically now," he said, slowly and haltingly.

"_Y-yes, I guess I am," _she replied.

"Nice. Man, I wish I could have been there when it happened. Actually, I wish I could have been there for a lot of stuff that happened. He told me about you blowing Wallace's Pokemon through the wall. I got a good laugh out of that. That was, what, a year, two years ago?"

"_I don't know. I sort of forget usually."_

"Ah, it doesn't matter. He ever tell you how much I drove him nuts for months after I traded you? I couldn't stop calling to see how you were doing."

"_He's just like you said. He's a very kind man, just like you."_

"Yeah, but he's a lot cooler than me. So he wins." He laughed, a short laugh that clearly pained him. "Man, we swore up and down that we were gonna drive around town after we were done challenging all the gym leaders, and we were gonna drive too fast and pick up too many girls and stay up too late and just get ourselves into all sorts of messes. No chance of that now, I guess."

"_I-I-"_

Gardevoir broke down, her tears cascading to the floor. Karl reached for her as best as he could and put an arm around her. "Shh, it'll be all right. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

"_But-but you're dying! It's not going to be all right!"_

"I know, and I wish I could change that. It's kinda too late for me now. But you know something? I'm gonna make sure I don't leave you again. Somehow."

He looked around, then saw something lying nearby. He picked it up and handed it to her. "Here. I want you to have these."

It was a case. She opened it up and saw twenty-four badges neatly lined up and polished. Gardevoir had a hard time getting past the lump in her throat.

"_I-I couldn't possibly-"_

"_Go ahead. I won't need them much longer. Soon, I won't have to deal with all this sickness and pain anymore. Maybe then I'll be allowed to watch over you. You know, like a guardian angel or something."_

This only caused Gardevoir to cry harder, and it brought a tear to Karl's eyes as well.

"I missed you so much after I traded you. I felt so terrible because I felt I betrayed your trust by doing that to you. I really am sorry."

Gardevoir could hold back no longer, and she leaned over as far as she could and hugged him, her body shaking with her sobs. Karl hugged her back, rubbing her shoulder as he did so.

"It'll be all right. Everything's going to be just fine," he said softly in her ear, over and over.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's note: Well, this is it. The end of the story. All of the work I've put in culminates in this. I still own nothing but the original characters.**

**After this, it's on to the crime story I've had in mind for about a month or two now. I'm planning to focus mainly on the actual detective work and not so much on the science part. Makes my job a bit easier without having to worry so much about embarrassing inaccuracies.**

**Thank you to anyone who has ever read this and/or commented.**

**Content warning:**

Gardevoir and Karl talked into the evening hours, talked and cried. There were not as many memories for the two to share as they had hoped, but what they had they recalled with a sort of mournful fondness. It seemed like they could talked forever. She certainly wished that they could.

His parents stood by watching with tears in their eyes. It meant so much to them to see their son be happy for perhaps the last time. The ordeal had been so painful for the three of them, realizing that all of the dreams that he had were slowly but unavoidably swirling down the drain.

Outside, the sky had grown dark as night took the last tinges of twilight from the horizon. The only light in the hospital room now was provided by a fluorescent light positioned above the head of the bed. It did nothing to disguise his sickly tone.

It was late that night when a nurse walked in. "Sorry to cut this short, but visiting hours are over. You'll have to come back tomorrow."

Gardevoir stood up, wiping tears from her eyes. _"I'm not leaving."_

"I'm sorry," replied the nurse, understanding telepathy, "but rules are rules."

"Isn't there a way you can keep her here?" his mother pressed. "She came a long way to be here for my son and she's tired."

"Ma'am, I happen to like being employed. I bend the rules, that won't last long."

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "The Gardevoir can stay. We can tell anyone who ask that she belongs to your son. They don't check tags all the time, so she might be safe."

"You have no idea how much this means to us," said Karl's mother gratefully.

"You have no idea how much of my neck is at risk," was the retort as the nurse left.

The parents turned to Gardevoir. "Do you want one of us to stay with you?"

"_You both look like you need some rest. I'll be fine."_

"Well, OK. We're going to see if we can find a place to stay so we can get here fast if something happens."

* * *

><p>Karl's parents were able to get an unused room to sleep in for the night, while Gardevoir moved a chair as close as she could to Karl, who had fallen asleep. She had trouble trying to close her eyes and sleep as well, seeing his face every time she closed her eyes, hearing his tortured breathing in the silence. Instinctively, she reached out and took his hand in hers, silently rubbing it as the tears began to flow again. She would have given anything for him to be well again, even her own life. The fact that she could not do so hurt her even more, and she cried herself to sleep.<p>

She suddenly felt a breeze, and felt the warmth of the sun on her skin.

_Where am I? _she wondered.

She opened her eyes and was stunned to see the ocean. She felt sand underneath her as she got to her feet.

_I've never seen this place before in my life. So what am I doing here, and why am I walking away from the water, and why am I suddenly wearing a fairly skimpy bikini?_

Her feet were taking her in a direction that she had never gone before, towards something she didn't know about. The wind blew her short hair around her face as the sand began to abruptly change into forest. The scent of leaves filled her lungs as she walked across the soft ground.

_This feels so dreamlike, and yet… it feels so real…._

She heard the sound of water crashing as the trees began to thin. Ahead, there was what seemed to be a series of cliffs, and the crashing got louder as she approached, yet it also seemed to grow softer.

Then she saw the waterfall, and she was instinctively led towards it. She walked right through the water and received the shock of her life.

It was Karl, just like the day she met him, his short hair soaked by the water, his soft gray eyes smiling at her. He was wearing a loose pair of shorts and nothing else, looking as healthy as she had remembered him.

"Thank you for coming. I've been waiting for you for a long time," he said.

She walked towards him and felt her top strangely melt away. He smiled and drew her close to him, oblivious of the horn situated between her soft breasts. They stood under the waterfall, not moving, feeling each other breathe. In this moment, she felt safer than she ever felt before.

He gently lifted her face towards him and kissed her. She kissed him back, then put one arm around his shoulder and one around his back and kept kissing him, rubbing his body as she did so. His own hands moved along her spine as well, traveling as low as he could reach, tenderly massaging her soft posterior.

His touch aroused her in ways that she never felt with him, even as a Kirlia. She let a moan escape from her lips as he continued to caress her. She let a hand run down his chest as the tingling of pleasure shook her. The arm around his back began to trace the lines in his back, and she opened her eyes to look at him and was stunned to see him begin to fade away.

"I wanted to be able to share one more special moment with you, since we never got to spend that much time together," his voice rang out as she began frantically groping around for what she knew she would not find there. "You were always the best that I wish I still had."

"_No! P-please don't leave me!" _she pleaded, tears coming to her eyes.

"Don't worry, Gardevoir. I'll be the angel on your shoulder whenever you're feeling alone, I'll make sure that you never fall when the going gets rough, and I will ALWAYS love you, even when I'm long gone."

Gardevoir began to cry, and there was a shrill noise.

* * *

><p>Her eyes flew open to see doctors and nurses surrounding the bed even as she still held his hand, which had grown limp in her grasp. Horrified, she let go as one doctor, choked by emotion, gestured for the now useless life support machines to be shut down.<p>

"Time of death, 2:36 A.M.," he said.

Karl's parents stood in the doorway, the mother in tears, the father trying to hold it in but losing his battle.

Gardevoir could stand it no longer. She ran sobbing from the room and did not stop running until she came to a waiting room, where she collapsed on the floor and let the tears fall from her broken heart.

A ghostly hand touched her shoulder, and she slowly turned her head. Through her clouded eyes, she could make out the form of a Dusknoir hovering next to her.

"_Is something the matter?" _he asked.

Gardevoir couldn't bring herself to speak, so she just nodded.

"_Was it the young man who just died a few moments ago?"_

She nodded again.

"_You two were kinda close, weren't ya?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Aw, don't cry," _he said, trying to be as soothing as a Ghost-type of his abilities could. _"I know you miss him a lot, but at least he's not in pain anymore. You'd want him to be free from that, wouldn't ya?"_

"_But why did he have to die? He didn't do anything to deserve that!"_

"_Some things in life we just have no explanation for. Sometimes, sad things like these happen to people, whether they like it or not. They can't do much about it. But they do what they can with it and make things better for who they still can._

"_Now he has no more pain to suffer through. Now all he has is peace and rest. I've been sent to make sure he goes somewhere where he can have those things all the time._

"_He did tell me before I took him," _the Dusknoir added, _"that I was to tell you that he still loves you very much and that he'll never forget you or all the things you did together. They are memories that he'll keep in his heart forever, and he hopes that you will too."_

Gardevoir began to cry again. _"If you could, c-could you please tell him that I'll always remember him, and that I'll always love him too?"_

"_Of course I can. And as he said, he'll be watching you and cheering for you every step you take." _He held a hand out. In it was an airship ticket. _"He figured you might need this to get back to your master, so he told me to give this to you in case he never got the chance."_

Gardevoir quietly took it as the Dusknoir glided away.

"_Goodbye, Karl," _she whispered. _"I love you."_

* * *

><p>She sat in her seat, watching Karl's parents wave goodbye to her as the airship took off. The badges he gave her lay in the case in her lap.<p>

Next to her, an old Alakazam was reading a newspaper, his pince-nez glasses shoved a good distance down his nose. He stopped reading for a moment, then turned to look at her.

"_So, what brings you on this flight?" _he asked.

"_You want a long version or the abridged one?" _she replied.

"_We've got time. The long one."_

She settled back and began to tell him the story from the very beginning, watching the landscape pass below as they flew, a distant waterfall gleaming like a familiar paradise.


End file.
